The Relentless March Forward
by HaveBookWillTravel
Summary: Set roughly twenty years after the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Life, as it tends to do, has moved on, and the next generation of shinobi are set to inherit the pleasures and pitfalls of following in their parents footsteps. As the Chunin Exam returns to Konoha, what sinister plans have been set into motion this time? Because history has a tendency to repeat itself. GEN.


**Author's Note: **So here's an idea I've had bouncing around in my head for a while and wreaking havoc on my concentration on other stories. I've always had a soft spot for _Naruto_, and even though I fell out of reading and watching for a while, I managed to fall back into the swing of things just in time as the series comes to a close. And I figured that I might as well write a story as a tribute to Kishimoto's great work.

This is more than likely not the most imaginative or original fanfic, as I've read and enjoyed plenty of next-generation shinobi stories, and will probably draw some inspiration from those, as well as sources outside of the series and fandom.

Regardless, I hope you all enjoy it.

**Warnings: **Some spoilers, I suppose, and a bit of foul language. There will also be a fair bit of blood and gore, appropriately enough. I also have a tendency to write a bit crackish at times, and there will be some odd pairings as well. You have been warned.

**Disclaimer: **I...own...NUSSING!

* * *

Chapter 1: The Cycle Renewed

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto was a great many things. He was the jailor, the prison, and the friend of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, who was sealed within him. He was the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, the sixth (technically seventh, but nobody _really _counted Danzo) to carry the esteemed title. He was held up by his allies and feared by his enemies the world over. He was the man who had ended the Fourth Great Shinobi War in what was possibly the most decisive victory in the history of ever.

He was also still as childish as a thirty-year-old could be, and very, _very _impatient.

His wife, the former heiress of the Hyuga clan, shot him a look full of exasperated affection as she broiled some salmon for their breakfast. He kept glancing from the clock (which gave the time as close to seven in the morning) to the long hallway that led to their home's bedrooms.

Finally, just as the hour changed, a beeping sound began issuing from the corridor. Naruto became, if possible, more eager and jumpy than he'd been before, and Hinata couldn't really blame him. After all, it wasn't every day that one's first-born child began their very first Journeyman Qualification Exams.

The alarm clock's plaintive wailing ended with an abrupt crash, and Hinata sighed, moving to the pad that hung on her refrigerator and added _New Alarm Clock _to their list of groceries. This was followed quickly by a loud shriek of, "Who set my alarm so early!?"

Hinata allowed herself to giggle as she began to set the table, laying a steaming bowl of okayu before the three chairs followed by a plate of fish and tamagoyaki. The sounds of small feet padding into the dining room grew louder just as she poured out a cup of black tea for her daughter.

"Good morning, my love," she said, sweeping Uzumaki Kana into a hug, kissing her on the forehead before shoving her gently toward her breakfast.

"Morning, Kaa-chan," the girl said as she took her seat and began tearing into her food despite still having her eyes mostly shut.

Both physically and mentally, the girl hardly even resembled Hinata, but that was fine. The Hokage's daughter had somehow inherited neither Naruto's bright blonde hair nor her own dark blue shade, but instead the Uzumaki clan's famed red tresses which she kept cut to shoulder length and held in a loose bun. Her eyes, while being a sort of sky blue, bore no pupils, and had the same pearly sheen that boasted of the legendary dojutsu of the Hyuga clan. She had Naruto's mulish chin and small nose which, in Hinata's opinion, made her cuter than a button (but she rarely said it these days, as it usually caused her daughter to start ranting about how she wasn't _cute_ anymore).

Despite the early hour, Kana was already dressed and ready for her big day. A dark blue yukata wrapped around her developing form, held closed by an obi the same color as her hair. Her legs were covered by black leggings that ended just before her nin-geta, while her weapons holsters were strapped to her right thigh. Across her back was the bright red spiral of the Uzumaki clan, while her hitai-ate was tied loosely around her neck.

After she finished about half of her rice, she shot a half-glare at her father, who was practically bouncing off his chair with poorly-suppressed glee. "Geez, Tou-chan, you don't have to get so excited."

The Rokudaime grinned widely as he ruffled his only child's hair, causing her to scowl. "My dearest Kana, why wouldn't I be excited? You're taking your next step in becoming a great shinobi like your parents!" He shot a loving glance toward his wife, who was just sitting down to her own breakfast. "Remember our first Chunin Exam?"

Hinata smiled warmly. "How could I ever forget? That was probably the most eventful Chunin exam ever held in Konoha, really."

Kana groaned. "If you're gonna start reminiscing again, I'll just leave now. I've heard this story too many times for me to care. Besides, if I get there before Koga, I'll be able to get a head-start on info-gathering and get that much closer to kicking his ass!"

Hinata watched as Naruto's face clouded over slightly and he looked pointedly out the window. She herself sighed, memories floating unbidden to the forefront of her mind as they always did when the young Inuzuka was mentioned.

It was roughly twelve years ago, just a few months after Naruto had officially taken on the mantle of the Fire Shadow and five months into Hinata's pregnancy when the budding shinobi village of Hoshigakure had attacked Konoha, intending on gaining notoriety and infamy by taking out Konoha's "Orange Legion" and his wife.

Normally, it wouldn't have been a problem, except they had somehow gotten a hold of the Nibi, Matatabi, and the Gobi, Kokuo, and had stuck them in jinchuriki. The battle had devastated Konoha and much of the surrounding countryside, and when Naruto had killed the two demon jars, the demons themselves had escaped and, still under the induced madness of some sort of genjutsu, had begun causing even more havoc.

And even with the power of Kurama, Naruto had very nearly been killed. The only reason he was even alive was Inuzuka Kiba and the decision he and his wife made.

Not many people knew of Kurama's sapience, nor of his wish of continued existence, but somehow, Kiba was able to convince the Nine-Tails that both he and his jinchuriki would perish without assistance, and had gained the fox's chakra cloak in order to hold off the two Biju long enough for his wife to prepare their newborn son and his ninken companion for the Power of Human Sacrifice ritual.

Kiba and Akamaru gave themselves up to save Naruto, and they had given their children to save the village. And no matter how long ago it would be, Hinata knew that Naruto would never forgive himself for allowing them to do so.

So she placed her hand over his and gave him a gentle, understanding smile when he looked up. He took her hand and gave a soft squeeze and a grateful look before turning his attention back to Kana, who was by then waxing eloquent about exactly how she would beat up the young Inuzuka boy.

"-and then I'll kick him in the kintama! Yeah, that'll incapacitate him long enough for me to drop some stink pellets," she was saying.

"And what about Asagao?" Hinata pointed out with a faint smile. Asagao was Koga's ninken partner, and the only pup from the only litter sired by Akamaru to be paired with a shinobi. "Would you subject her to stink pellets, too?"

"Of course not!" Kana responded, looking affronted. "I _like_ Asagao. If anything, I'll coax her over to my side so our victory over Koga will be even more crushing and humiliating!" And Hinata forced herself not to join her daughter as she burst into slightly maniacal laughter. Her husband wasn't nearly so mature, and cackled madly right alongside Kana.

"Well, just make sure to do your very best, my little umeboshi," Naruto said after they'd calmed down and Kana had finished her food. "And no matter how you do, remember that we'll always be proud of you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kana grumbled halfheartedly as she allowed her parents to fuss over her a bit longer before pulling away and buckling her utility belt securely to her waist. "And it's only natural to be proud when your kid's the greatest rookie in Konoha!" She gave her progenitors the V's over her shoulder as she rushed out, and Hinata smiled as her daughter headed out.

"Well, I've got to get going, too," Naruto said, pulling on his cloak and giving his wife a quick peck on the lips. "Shikamaru's been on my case about the new batch of Jonin and how troublesome they are." He gave an exaggerated eye-roll, causing Hinata to chuckle. "Love you."

"And I love you," Hinata replied. "Now off you get. Neji-niisama and Minami-san are coming by with Tsubaki-chan, and I need to get some of Kana's old clothes out of the attic to give him."

Once Naruto was gone as well, Hinata allowed herself a few moments to relish how wonderful her life had become in the wonderful home she shared with the man she loved and their exceptional daughter.

* * *

Haruno Sakura stood at the door to her son's room, watching as he slept. Days like these, when he came to the threshold of a great milestone in his life always made her feel so melancholy and antsy. It made her heart ache terribly to know that he would never be able to experience just how much his father loved him, or how proud Kiba would have been upon seeing the next generation of Inuzuka undertake the Chunin Exam.

Finally, she decided to wake him up. Koga would be furious if she allowed him to be late for the examinations. "Oh, son of mine!" she called out in a sing-song voice, and instantly, Koga was up like a shot alongside Asagao, who began yapping in utter excitement, shaking her long, pale fur out.

After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Koga grinned sleepily at his mother. "Morning, Kaa-san," he said, hopping out of bed. "Thanks for getting me up."

Sakura patted him on the head like a dog, as she used to do to Kiba when they'd just started dating. "I wouldn't dream of letting you sleep in on a day like this," she answered fondly, pulling him into a hug. "Hurry up and get ready. Your breakfast is on the table, and I need to do my final checklist before I leave."

Nodding, Koga began rushing around his room, flinging around clothes, assorted ninja tools, and a few scrolls as Sakura left. She was leaving for Yuki no Kuni for a month-long mission to occupy one of Konohagakure's outposts there. Yukigakure, while not as young as some of the newer shinobi villages, was still getting its sea-legs so to speak, and Naruto had offered some assistance in exchange for an alliance with them. So she and a few others were headed there to relieve the last outpost team and hopefully get some good work done for the Snow-nin.

As she checked off the last item on her mission list (a picture of her and Kiba on their honeymoon in Yama no Kuni), Koga entered the kitchen and began preparing Asagao's breakfast, using a recipe handed down through the Inuzuka for generations.

Dirty blonde hair, long enough to tickle his chin but too wild to be called straight, fell in strands onto his cheeks, which were adorned by the Inuzuka clan's red fang marks. His eyes were a strange combination of genetic inheritance; his pupils were slits like most Inuzuka, but they were surrounded by irises the color of jade, like hers.

Sakura grimaced at his attire, but didn't comment; it never got her anywhere anyway. He'd taken to wearing the old, fur-lined jacket Kiba had favored in their Genin days ever since he'd found it in an old storage shed on the Inuzuka compound, and no matter how much she nagged him about how ratty and threadbare it looked, he refused to stop wearing it. Thankfully, he at least didn't keep the hood up like his damn-fool of a father had.

He was also wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts held up by his utility belt, and a pair of black nin-geta. She'd sewn his hitai-ate into a light gray bandana, which he used to keep his unruly hair (slightly) tamed, and his weapons holsters were strapped to his left thigh.

Then there were the swords pushed through his belt on his right hip.

Honestly, Sakura really didn't know what it was about swords that appealed to boys so much. Koga himself had confided in her recently that he'd only picked swords because he thought they were 'cool,' and Tenten, whom Sakura had bribed into teaching him, wholeheartedly agreed.

He'd chosen a pair of butterfly swords, barely more than glorified daggers, as his weapon of choice, and though she didn't necessarily like it, Sakura would admit (read: boast proudly to anyone) that Koga could handle those dao like few others. Even Tenten had told her that the kid was a natural with the blades.

Asagao trotted in a while later, her long, pale fur glinting in the morning sunlight. She was still young (by Inuzuka ninken standards, anyway), but already she was as tall as Koga's knee at the shoulder. It might be the genes from her mother, a wild wolf from Yama no Kuni that Akamaru had mated with during their two-year stay there, but Sakura could tell that Asagao would be one hell of a big shinobi dog. Her own hitai-ate was tied around her neck, and she made sure to cinch it more securely with her jaws before digging into her food.

Sakura smiled at her children. They were really all that was keeping her going, now that Kiba was gone. Of course, her duties as Konoha's head medic-nin and sometimes ambassador were important as well, but Koga and Asagao held her sanity together.

"Okay, you two," she said, heaving a heavy sigh as she zipped up her flak jacket and hefted her pack. "I'm off." Asagao raced over to her and jumped up to nuzzle her chin, licking her collarbone and whining softly. Sakura giggled at the tickling sensation, scratching the sweet spot behind the ninken's left ear, same as Akamaru's. "I'll miss you too, you beautiful creature."

"Bye, Kaa-san," Koga said, and Sakura pulled him into a crushing hug. "Try not to kill anyone; it's a diplomatic mission, remember."

Sakura smirked wryly at her son. "No promises," she snarked, cuffing him lightly on the head. "Good luck during the exams. If you work hard, you might be a Chunin by the time I come back!"

"What d'ya mean, 'might'?" Koga answered with all the cocky swagger his father had once possessed. "I'll _definitely _be a Chunin, just you watch."

"That's the spirit!" Sakura said, chuckling. "See you later, guys!"

_So maybe the love of my life is dead_, she thought as she headed off to see Naruto for a pre-mission briefing. _And maybe my kids have demons sealed inside them. As long as they're healthy and safe, I think I can manage_...

* * *

Uchiha Kyoka rose that morning, as she did every morning, to silence. Today was the day she would begin the third step to attaining vengeance for her father's death. The first, of course, had been to become a kunoichi of the Village of Hidden Sound, while the second had been to gain a place on Otogakure no Sato's roster of Genin eligible for the promotion exam held in Konoha.

Now, as she woke in the room provided to her, she allowed herself a small sense of accomplishment to seep through her before clamping down on it and smothering it. She could not allow herself to become complacent, or everything she had worked for would be for naught.

Today, it didn't matter that she really didn't have any friends, or that a great many of her fellow Sound-nin hated her. Nor did it matter that she had grown up with only a dim recollection of her parents, and no loved ones to care for her.

No, today, she would set in motion the plan she'd devised which would rob the Hokage of his heart, as he had done to her so very long ago.

Twelve years ago, when she had been only four years old, her home village of Otogakure had been attacked by hundreds of humanoid creatures her father had called 'White Zetsu'. He and her mother had gone out with the rest of their team, and for five days, the shinobi of the Sound had done battle with those _things_.

Five days in which Otogakure had sent urgent pleas for aid to their 'allies' the Village Hidden Amongst the Leaves. Five days in which her parents' strength had waned. On the fourth day, her mother had died, and on the fifth day, her father fell as well, just in time for Konoha's Orange Legion to arrive and wipe out the rest of the White Zetsu.

She had held her dying father as he'd bled out, and he had given her his last farewell and tapped her gently on the forehead before dying with a bloody grin. When the Hokage had arrived, she'd hid herself away, and had watched as Uzumaki Naruto had picked up Uchiha Sasuke as gently as possible, muttering, "As arrogant in death as you were in life," almost fondly upon seeing Sasuke's post-mortem smirk.

Kyoka had also heard the confession of the Rokudaime over her father's cooling corpse. "It's my fault that you're dead, Sasuke. I should have been here sooner. I wanted to come, but Hinata was in labor, and I couldn't leave her. I sent Sakura, but you know how slow she is..."

And in her young mind, that was as good as an admission of murder. So it had been Naruto's fault that her parents were dead? And someone named Sakura was also to blame? From that moment on, she'd dedicated herself to finding a way to get even with the Hokage, to finding a way to wound him in a way no physical blow ever could.

It had taken twelve years of blood and sweat (no tears for her, thank you _very much_), and of shunning everyone except her teammates (and even then, she wasn't too friendly with them), but all of Kyoka's efforts seemed to be paying off.

She was in Konohagakure, just a few kilometers away from the man who had killed her parents, and within arm's reach of her goal of vengeance. And _oh_, how sweet it would be to watch as Uzumaki Naruto's famed blue eyes clouded over with the pain of losing his first-born child.

Once she'd gotten herself prepared, she took a final look at herself in the mirror. Her jet-black hair was pulled into a ponytail that hung over her left shoulder while her bangs hung over her hitai-ate and into slate-colored eyes. People told her that she had inherited her haughty beauty from her father, and after seeing old pictures of Sasuke, Kyoka was inclined to agree, although she wasn't too happy about the poor eyesight she'd gained from her mother, and subsequently the eyeglasses she needed to wear as a result.

She wore a gray, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar that bore the red and white fan emblem of the Uchiha. Her pants were dark blue and bunched at the knee, where her traveling boots took over. A pale violet waist wrap hid her utility belt, and was held up by a rope belt tied in a bow at the small of her back, which her inherited sword Kusanagi was tucked into. Her arms were covered by long, black detached sleeves, and at her wrists were bracelets that could store and release hundreds of shuriken and kunai on command.

After adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose, Kyoka nodded to her reflection. "Today is the day," she said. "The Hokage will rue the day he ever heard the name _Uchiha_."

* * *

**After-Action Report:** Well, there you have it. And yes, I did pair Sakura with Kiba and Sasuke with Karin. Got a problem?

The breakfast the Uzumaki share consists of okayu (a sort of rice porridge kind of thing), broiled salted salmon, and tamagoyaki (which is like an omelet of sorts).

As for the whole Nibi and Gobi thing, I'm going off the assumption that Naruto will free the Tailed Beasts once he's done with the Shinju and Obito. I realize this might not happen, and therefore this fanfiction will be officially AU, but until then, well...like fuck if I really care. The Five-Tails is sealed in Koga, while the Nibi is sealed in Asagao. And yes, I purposely sealed the Nekomata demon inside a dog. Problem, Interwebz?

The word _kintama_ is a euphemism for a man's genitalia (_Kin= _gold, _tama_=ball, sphere; you get the picture).

Finally, concerning the White Zetsu who were instrumental in Sasuke's death, well, no one _really_ knows just how many White Zetsu clones there were, and in my head-canon, Sasuke was just as instrumental in Obito's defeat as Naruto, and we all know how loyal Zetsu was to 'Tobi'.

I realize that due to the nature of this fanfiction, I won't have a whole hell of a lot of readers, but I urge those beautiful few who did enjoy leave a review. And even if you didn't like it at all, drop a review saying what you disliked about it. And if I've committed some heinous mistake in fandom facts, please leave a review regarding my fuck-up as quickly as possible so I can rectify said blunder.

Until next time!


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